Stone face mystery

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52D
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Stone face mystery

Post by 52D »

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/histor ... e_Viaduct/
Please read the article and comment if you know anything.
Hi interested in the area served by 52D. also researching colliery wagonways from same area.
Jingling Geordie
NER J27 0-6-0
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Re: Stone face mystery

Post by Jingling Geordie »

Watto 52D,
I wonder if it had at some time been "looted" from a closed abbey or similar building. Some of these stones may have had a varied history?

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Last edited by Jingling Geordie on Mon Oct 19, 2009 11:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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52D
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Re: Stone face mystery

Post by 52D »

A logical deduction JG
Hi interested in the area served by 52D. also researching colliery wagonways from same area.
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60041
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Re: Stone face mystery

Post by 60041 »

I have walked over the Lune Viaduct many times, but must confess I have never noticed this head. There is a ruined abbey near Barnard Castle where it could have come from, but I would have thought that a keystone was such a specialist piece of stone that it would not be practical to re-work an older carved stone. Maybe it is just some stone mason's indulgeance or a joke along similar lines to the carved heads of monks sticking their tongues out that you can find in York Minster.
Jingling Geordie
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Re: Stone face mystery

Post by Jingling Geordie »

60041 makes a good structural point regarding keystones. However the style of the carving is very "medieval".Furtherrmore I can see no reason why an 18th century stone mason would not have carved the stone in a contemporary style. The Gothic Revival was a long way off at the time.

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